


You Keep Me Alive

by silentwhisper002



Series: After The Storm [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: All Time Angst, Angst, Based on an All Time Low Song, Childhood Memories, Hurt, I Made Myself Cry, I REGRET NOTHING, It's Cry Time, Loki & Thor Friendship (Marvel), Loki's Last Moments, Protective Thor (Marvel), So much angst, Thor Needs a Hug (Marvel), literally all the angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:47:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25955443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentwhisper002/pseuds/silentwhisper002
Summary: You're like Siren in the darkYou're the beat playing in my heartYou keep me aliveOn the edge of tonightHe was with him in the beginning, he'll be there until the end.OrLoki's last momentsTitle from The Edge of Tonight - All Time Low
Series: After The Storm [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883713
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	You Keep Me Alive

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sorry

His body hardly moved as he struggled for breath, his systems running haywire as they desperately tried to keep his heart beating.

His eyes remained trained on the Titan who held him; Thanos’ lips were moving, but he couldn’t hear a thing. Or maybe he just didn’t want to.

It was funny, Loki thought, there was so much left to be done, yet he felt at peace. 

For the first time in his life, he wasn’t afraid. He had no regrets.

Loki’s emerald gaze shifted back towards Thor, who was still bound on his knees. He assumed the other Asgardian was probably pleading for his brother’s life, but it wouldn’t matter in the end. 

Loki had made his bed, let him sleep in it.

_Thor._

His eyes pricked with tears as he thought of the man. 

Thor was an imbecile, yes.

He was boisterous, irritating, overconfident, and much too emotional for Loki's liking. 

But Thor was his brother. 

Thor had _always_ been his brother. 

Loki used to think that there was no one in this world for him. He’d loved Frigga, his foster-mother, very much, and she’d always returned the feeling, but he knew that deep down, even she saw him for what he really was. 

An outsider.

Thor, on the other hand, had been a different story.

Loki remembered what the now-king had once said when they’d argued on that cliff top, back when he was still young and naive.

_“We fought together, we played together, do you remember none of that?”_

_I remember all of it, brother,_ He thought, wishing he could say the words out loud.

But instead, Loki’d responded that he remembered a shadow. 

Thinking back now, he realized that he hadn’t been _completely_ wrong. 

Perhaps the context was off, but Loki _did_ remember a shadow. 

When they were younger, Thor, being a little older, followed him everywhere he went. 

At the time, Loki found it nettlesome, but now, seeing how hard Thor was fighting against his restraints, just to get to _him_ , he realized how far his brother would go to keep him safe.

Even as children, Thor had been his shadow, his protector. 

Remembering a moment in particular, Loki allowed a small smile to grace his lips.

They couldn’t have been more than six or seven when he convinced Thor to sneak out and come exploring in the woods with him. 

Their mother never let them stray far from the castle walls, and Loki, being the God of mischief, couldn’t help his curiosity. 

It hadn’t taken much to get Thor to agree; the older Asgardian was always up for an adventure, even if it was a horrible idea. 

They’d had a magical time, chasing fireflies around the bushes, and pretending to be great kings of the forest. Loki pegged it as one of the best nights of his life, until he’d fallen backwards in a ditch, and managed to get himself wedged into a bramble thicket. 

Nightfall was slowly advancing upon them, they were obviously lost, and Loki could tell that Thor was scared out of his mind. However, the elder had swallowed his tears, and promised his brother that he wasn’t going to leave his side. Instead, he’d pulled Loki out, covering himself in a million scrapes and scratches. 

When Odin finally found them, Thor took all the blame, not wanting Loki to get in trouble. 

Thor may have been a scaredy-cat, but Loki was sensitive, and his older brother knew how he reacted to yelling. 

Thor protected him. 

It must be killing him that he couldn’t do it now.

Loki’s heart lurched, but he wasn't sure if it was from his new-found nostalgia, or the hand that was currently cutting off his airway. 

He wanted so desperately to reach out to the suffering man, and tell him thank you. 

He never saw it until now, but the only shadow he’d been living in was Odin’s. 

Thor always thought of Loki as an equal, a friend, a brother. 

Even after Loki’s true parentage had been revealed, it never changed. 

Thor grieved when he thought Loki had died. He hadn’t brooded when the God of Mischief returned unharmed because he was disappointed, it was because the older man had been incomplete without him. 

Thor had told him this as they stood together on the stolen ship, watching Asgard burn. 

Loki almost broke down right then and there when he heard how Thor cared. 

Here he was, a man who’d done nothing but make mistakes. He’d cheated, lied, and killed, but Thor forgave him every time, even if he clearly didn’t deserve it.

When S.H.I.E.L.D wanted him dead for his crimes in New York, Thor spent countless hours talking them out of it. 

Despite all the mess Loki’d made, Thor still believed in him.

Thor kept him safe.

He kept him sane.

He kept him honest.

And for Thor, Loki was the same.

But Loki also knew that the King of Asgard would be okay without him.

Just as Thor never stopped believing in Loki, Loki believed in Thor. 

His brother would still keep him alive, even if he wasn't physically there. 

Loki wouldn’t be forgotten. 

He hoped it gave Thor solace, knowing that despite the outcome, Loki had never left him, and never would.

His vision was blurring now with a mix of breathlessness and tears, and he felt himself falling to the ground. 

Loki trained his eyes to the fire in the sky as the world began to grow dark around him. 

He could just barely make out the silhouette of another body looming over him.

Loki didn’t have to strain his sight to know who it was. 

Just as his brother had been there in the beginning, he’d be with him in the end.

Exhaling a final time, Loki let himself go.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Catharsis.  
> You're welcome.  
> I regret nothing.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [A Truth Untold](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26028250) by [Stellophia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stellophia/pseuds/Stellophia)




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